Athletic shoe cleat



Jain 6, 1942. c, N' FZIGER 2,268,992

ATHLETIC. SHOE CLEAT Filed Aug. 6, 1940 I INVENTOR. Jar C. Nor-21cm ATTEY.

Patented Jan. 6, 1942 I PATIENT OFFICE I I .I" I I K I Arlene-TicsHoEc-Lmrf Jay 'Nofz iger, Los Ange'lesgfialif.

ApplicationAugustfi, wheelie Mo.1351.582 A Claims-1 101136 1 9) Thisinvention-relates .to athletic shoecleats.

The general object .of the invention is to provide .an improved .cleatfor. a baseball or other athletic shoe.

A furthercbjectof .the invention is to provide a cleat including aresilient base having rigid gripping members secured thereto.

Another object of the invention is to provide a I cleat including a basemade of spring steel and having sharpened, hardened, gripping membersFig. 4 is a plan view showing another form of cleat in the act of beingassembled;

Fig. 5 is a plan view of the cleat shown in Fig. 7 is a bottom plan viewof a shoe showing my invention applied thereto;

Fig. 8 is a plan view showing a modified cleat extended;

Fig. 9 is a fragmentary bottom plan view of a shoe sole showing themodified cleat assembled;

Fig. 10 is a section taken on line III-I0, Fig.9;

Fig. 11 is a plan view showing a further modified cleat disassembled;

Fig. 12 is a plan view showing the further modified cleat assembled; and

Fig. 13 is a section taken on line I3 I3, Fig. 12.

Referring to the drawing by reference characters I have shown myinvention as embodied in a toe cleat indicated generally at I0, and in aheel cleat indicated generally at II. The general construction andarrangement of the two cleats I0 and II is identical except for theshape of the base members.

The toe cleat l0 comprises a base I2 which is made of flexible springsteel or other suitable material and having edges I3 and I4. The base isprovided with a plurality of apertures I5.

;dicated at 1 .6, .are L-shaped in cross-section. Eachmember is made .ofhardened metal and includes aibase I] having an upstanding portion I8which is preferably sharpened or beveled as at k9. .The .base I] isprovided an -aperture 20.

In the preferred method of manufacture the gripping members I6 arearranged on the base as shown in Fig. 2 with the base outwardly directedand with the portion I8 spaced from the end of the base. The members I6are then spot-welded or otherwise secured to the base' with theapertures I5 in alignment with the apertures 20. v

After this is done the entire cleat may be heat treated if desired andmay be rust proofed if desired.

In Figs. 4, 5, and 6 the base I2 has sides I3, ends I4, and apertures I5which are similar in all respects to the corresponding parts shown inFig. 1, except that the shape of the base is shortened and narrowed tomore closely approximate the shape and size of the heel of a shoe.

The gripping members I6 have upstanding portions I8 which are beveled asat I9 and the bases of the gripping members are apertured as The membersI6 are secured to the base I2 in the manner already described inconnection with the cleats shown in Figs. 1 to 3.

In Figs. 8 and 9 I show a modification wherein the base 25 includesextended portions 26 and 21 which in the blank are integral with thebase and which are formed into the position shown in Figs. 9 and 10during manufacture. The portions 26 each include an aperture 28 whichalign with aperture 29 in the base. A hardened gripping member 30 iswelded to the portion 21 to complete the cleat.

In Figs. 11, 12, and 13 the base 35 has apertures 36 therein. Mountedupon the base 35 I arrange gripping members 31 which are similar to thegripping members I6 previously described but which are arranged with theupstanding portion 38 substantially aligned with the outer ends 39 ofthe base as clearly shown in Fig. 13

As the base of the cleats is'flexible there is no interference with thestride of the runner and furthermore the elasticity enables the wearerof The gripping or anti-slipping members are inanti-slipping device forathletic shoes which is highly emcient in use and which can beeconominally manufactured.

Having thus described my invention I claim:

1. In combination with an athletic shoe having an upper and a sole, aflexible steel spring plate directly engaging the sole, said flexiblesteel plate including an imperforate body portion and end portions,gripping members each of which includes a base which directly engagesand is spot welded one to each of said end portions, each grippingmember having a single sharpened portion projecting therefrom, saidgripping member and end portions having aligned apertures therein andfastening means extending through said apertures and secured to the soleof the shoe.

2. In an athletic shoe cleat, a flexible steel spring plate including abody portion and diverging end portion, a gripping member on each endportion, each gripping member being L-shaped in cross-section andincluding a base having a sharpened portion projecting therefrom, saidbase being outwardly directed and said sharpened portions being disposedremote from the ends of the end portions.

3. In combination with an athletic shoe including an upper and aflexible, metallic plate directly engaging the sole of the shoe, meanson said plate to prevent rusting, said plate having a plurality ofspaced gripping members thereon, each of said gripping members beingL-shaped in cross-section and including an outwardly directed basespot-welded to said plate and a single sharpened portion projecting fromthe base, said gripping member and said plate each having alignedapertures therein and fastening means to secure the plate to the sole ofthe shoe.

4. In combination with an athletic shoe including an upper and aflexible plate directly engaging the sole of the shoe, means on saidplate to prevent rusting, said plate having a plurality of spacedgripping members thereon, each of said gripping members including a basewhich is inwardly directed and which is spot-welded to the plate, and asingle sharpened portion projecting from the base, said gripping membersand said plate each having aligned apertures therein and fastening meansextending through said aligned apertures and secured to the sole of theshoe.

JAY C. NOFZIGER.

